


Dirt Smudged

by Captain_Louie



Series: Keith's Savior [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Highschool, Angst?, Child Abuse, Depression, Highschool AU, Keiths parents are alive but..., Lance is trying, M/M, So hard, tragic, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8688967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Louie/pseuds/Captain_Louie
Summary: The boy in Keith's class had dirt on his face, but Keith waited and the boy with dirt on his face turned into a boy with a heart of gold.-----=¤TRIGGER=WARNING¤=-----Child abuse and depression





	

"Disgusting."

He felt the kick rock his whole body, words shattering his soul.

God Keith wished they would stop, what did he do? Why did this have to be his reality?  
______

Keith felt his shoulders hitch when his name was called, expecting some sort of insult or injury headed his way until he remembered he was in his third grade class.

"Keith, why don't you give us the answer?"

He looked at the board where the teacher had written the problem and took a moment to go through it in his head before promptly stating the answer with a straight face.

The teacher had a combination of annoyance and pride in his face, Keith wouldn't give this teacher any credit.

The kid next to him, a boy with  a dirt smudge on his cheek and short, messy brown hair, reached over and poked his arm. When he was sure he had Keith's attention he gave him a wide, toothy (except that one spot two from his front teeth) grin and whispering a proud 'nice dude.'

Keith was unsure how to respond so he nodded and turned back to the math he was pretending to do.  
______

The boy and the words of praise stuck in his mind for the rest of the day and when he went home he almost didn't expect the holler that came from his mother. He learned though.  
______

6th grade orientation.

That was the next time Keith forgot.

It was the same brown haired, dirt smudged boy. He hadn't seen the boy, lance, since the third grade.

Keith didn't know why he didn't tell his teachers or someone about the abuse, but when the first day of middle school had been so very full of lance that he'd been careless enough to get home late he took a guess.

He also took a beating, apparently she'd been drinking more than usual today. At least his father wasn't home yet.  
______

By seventh grade Keith figured lance hated him. though it wasn't a new experience altogether, it held a certain sting that occasionally had him sitting in a bathroom stall trying to control himself.  
______

The hatred lasted the rest of middle school and into high school where the it seemed to mellow into a heated rivalry that Keith rarely feel for, or acknowledged.

Though he definitely paid attention to the boy who's smile crossed his mind when he found himself wondering why he shouldn't just end it.  
______

"Kogane!"

Keith had gotten his reactions under control long ago, but when that warm voice said his name so tormentingly, in an almost friendly way...

Keith fought the whimper gurgling up in his throat. Keith leaned against the bathroom sink in his best effort at looking casual.

"Hey what're you doing man-"  
Lance froze, staring at Keith's right arm and the black haired boy's eyes widened before hastily tugging down his sleeves, getting wet splotches on his dark long sleeve shirt.

He ignored lances gaze as he slung his jacket over his shoulders and dodged past lance and out of the boys restroom.

Lance caught his arm though and looked into Keith's pursed, carefully stilled face.

The Latino boy then glanced down and quickly dropped his grip, only to clutch at Keith's sleeve.

"Did," lance swallowed and Keith follwed the bob of his Adams Apple, hating himself for it.

"Did you get in a fight?"

Keith nearly sagged with relief but instead hardened his face further and yanked his arm away, turning and leaving in a hurry.

Looks like lance is as oblivious as he acts.  
_______

Keith was cornered a week later by the very same oblivious Latino.

Keith was huffing and ready to cuss lance out until he started rolling up Keith's sleeve. Keith froze before doing his best to fight the taller boy off.

He had nearly won when lance managed to drag his sleeve halfway up his forearm.

Lance let Keith shove him back, stumbling to keep himself upright, but he immediately gripped Keith's sleeve.

"Keith, this is- your parents did this, you have trouble at home?"  
Keith huffed quietly, breath coming out ragged.

Lance can't know, lance wouldn't know.

"What are you talking about? It's a bruise, people have accidents," Keith tried to pull away but lance held tight.

"Hey, if it were an accident would ther be handprints?" Keith's gaze dropped, his chin tucked into his chest as lance continued, "It's not like it's a new development, you've had a dozen black eyes in the last year, you always wear long sleeves. Fuck Keith, I'm not an idiot."

Lance fell quiet and Keith grimaced, holding back any emotions he might let slip of he doesn't keep himself reigned in.

"There are a lot of people who don't like me, sometimes it gets physical."

Lance huffed, dropping his gaze and finally released Keith's sleeve. He quickly looked back up and gave a pleading look to Keith.

"If you wanna tell me the truth, I'm here. hell, I'll be here even if you're gonna keep lying to yourself."

Lance left and Keith stood there wondering when he'd become friends with Lance Mclain the boy who hated him.  
______

Two days after that Keith gave in.

"I don't know what to do," he looked into lances eyes, conveying the hurt he'd felt when his father had kicked him in the gut last night after coming home drunk, and continuing to call him every hate name under the sun.

Lance's eyes softened and he lifted his arms. For a moment Keith thought that lance was going to hug him until he dropped his hands onto Keith's shoulders, giving a light squeeze.  
Keith didn't hide his flinch this time, not sure what to expect after opening up like this.

Lance made a strangled whining sound before wholeheartedly wrapping his arms around Keith's shoulders,burying one hand in the long locks at the back of his head and using the other to bind Keith's shoulders to his.

Keith almost couldn't control his actions when he made a small chocked sound and hesitantly brought his arms around lances narrow torso.

Keith couldn't remember the last hug he'd gotten. He balled his hands up in the back of lances shirt.

Damn the other people in the library, it was lunch and Keith needed this.

They stood there for longer than Keith could guess. Lance only let go when the bell rang for the end of lunch.

"Hey," lance placed his hand on Keith's head and looked him in the eyes, "meet me in front of the building after school's out okay?"

Keith sputtered as he tried to tell lance no, but the boy was already gone  
______

Keith had convinced lance to let him just head home, but there must have been some physical change in him because of lance. He knew because when he got home his parents didn't even bother to scold him for being late, she just screeched for his father and they took turns shouting gay slurs at him and beating him.  
______

The next morning lance whined and held his face gently as he inspected the black eye, moving them to the bathroom so that he could inspect Keith better, though the shorter boy protested.

Lance apologised profusely and continued to coddle Keith until the bell rang, ordering Keith to meet him in the library.  
______

They did and lance forced the story out of him, pulling Keith to him when he finished.

"Keith, please don't do this," lance buried his face into Keith's neck and Keith could have sworn he felt his shirt collar moisten.

"What am I supposed to do lance?"

The name felt so sweet on his lips, contrasting the hopelessness of the question.

Lance took a few more moments to breathe before he pulled back and looked into Keith's eyes so seriously.

"Leave, come stay at my house," when Keith's eyes widened lance continued.

"There's already about a billion people at my house, no one would mind, you can stay in my room. And my mom would adopt you immediately."

He looked so desperately into Keith's eyes, which were filling with tears.

Keith had never felt so wanted.  
Keith let out a gasping breath, rushing out an answer, "yeah, okay."

The begging look in lances eyes cried of the need for the statement to not have been a lie.

"Really, oh God thank you," lance held Keith tight.

And Keith felt so whole.  
______

They set the date for Keith's escape to be three days later, the soonest lance could figure would work.

Keith did his best to not seem on edge, or happy.

On the morning of his escape he left as much school stuff as he could in order to fit two sets of clothes and socks into his backpack.

He thought he'd been sneaky enough, on top of the fact that his parents were expected to be sleeping off hangovers at this point.

"What the hell are you doing?"  
His packing was brought to a halt.

He always seemed to learn the hard way.  
______

It had been the worst by far today, or yesterday, Keith's sense of time was pretty warped.

He felt achy and bruise riddled and he was sure he had a few broken bones.

The coppery tang of blood filled his mouth as he did his best to breathe, but it seemed like that wouldn't be happening.

There was a huge pressure on his chest, his lungs trying their hardest but Keith could feel it,  or rather,he couldn't.

He was going, limbs weakening and he felt the end.

The last things that crossed his mind were the images of a wiry Latino boy with messy hair and a dirt caked face and his older counterpart, a tall, unbarably beautiful boy who did his very best to save someone who'd never really mattered.

In his last moments he thought of the boy who'd saved him. The boy that he'd fallen so terribly in love with.

Thank you for making me whole.  
I love you.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god....  
> This was gonna be mildly depressing and then after a couple of sections I was like  
> WHAT IF... BAD END?  
> And then I pictured it and started bawling.... And then I wrote bad end.  
> There will be lances pov and I kinda wanna write like 'origins' like how Keith's abuse began, both separately btw


End file.
